


Raging storm

by amberalertxx



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dear John Letter, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, First Love, Inspired by Taylor Swift, Moving On, Post-Break Up, Slow Burn, based on a breakup i went through, should i let go or hold on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21597133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amberalertxx/pseuds/amberalertxx
Summary: Percy can't open up and Annabeth is patient until she's not. Modern AU
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

give it a read if you're curious (:

"I guess it was his eyes, raging like the storm. it seemed to convey a whole story"

Annabeth doesn't know if this is supposed to be deep, but it's the truth. She hates being cliche like this as if eyes can convey a whole story but when she was around him it did. Not knowing whether this is a good enough response, she tries again,

"By that I mean, he painted his thoughts in his face. .even though he wasn't good at expressing them through words, I understood him through a look,"

"You two had a connection, where his expressions often told you his feelings, correct?" she looks up at Dr. Rastogi,

"Yeah, I guess so. Where his words fell short his expressions made up for it."

Dr. Rastogi smiled warmly, "did he often share his thoughts with you?"

"Not often no, he kept to himself most of the time but it was nice knowing I was one of the few people he opened up to."

"Tell me about a time he opened up to you," Annabeth remembers like it was yesterday,

they were laying on the couch his legs tangled with hers as she was playing with his hair,

"Wanna talk about what's bothering you?" Percy stiffened not wanting to bring up the subject. "

It's not a big deal," he said trying to avoid the subject

Annabeth moved ever so slightly trying to get a better look at him through the dimmed lighting, "You've been more distant lately, and I think I know why"

Annabeth ignored how Percy's posture stiffened. Annabeth kind of knew what was bothering him but she wanted him to tell her, she wanted him to trust her enough to let her in and be completely vulnerable, just like how she was to him.

Percy sighed, finally meeting her eyes boring into hers he held her gaze not wanting to look away.

"It's about my mom, I've only seen her this happy since my dad" Annabeth nodded understandingly, silently asking him to continue. "Everyone is telling me to be happy for her, but I'm so scared Anna, I'm afraid of her being hurt, again."

Annabeth could feel his pain, Sally was her second mom and hearing about her being potentially hurt pained her. Slowly she thought of the right words to say,

"You took on the role of being there for her, filled your dad's shoes and filled a major hole in her life. But along the way, you forgot that you're only her son, and you can't fill in the role of a lover. Sometimes you need to take risks, your mom will be happier if she finds herself out there, vulnerable ready to love rather than being afraid.." She stopped at that, looking at Percy as if silently asking to continue and to her surprise, his eyes were wide in understatement telling her to continue.

"Your mother is a strong woman, she can easily understand the signs of a bad relationship now that she knows. In case she does get hurt again, just know that she has a great support system. She's going to be okay Perce."

Percy smiled at Annabeth, not knowing the right words to say he just settled for a nod. Annabeth smiled back, basically beaming. Percy being vulnerable in front of her was all she wanted, laying her head on his chest she continued watching the movie.

"Those memories are all I have of him now.." Annabeth smiled sadly, even though he wasn't there with her she was content in knowing she had their memories.

-LINEBREAK-

so I'm an aspiring writer and have always wanted to write some kind of fanfic. and I grew up reading pjo so I thought I'd give this a try. I'm at the very beginners of writing, and I wanna see if I can improve by expanding already written works. I also posted this story on fanfiction.net, this is the edited version of it. There's more coming to this story and I hope y'all liked it (:


	2. the sun in my eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "i feel we're like the wind and sea"  
> \- lana del rey

Annabeth walked out of Dr. Rastogi’s office feeling the cold crisp of the city.

Letting her thoughts fly around she found them landing on Percy.

Therapy gave her the freedom to space her thoughts, and to lay them out on a platter letting someone dissect them as they slowly pick apart parts of her life telling her where she went wrong and how to fix it.  
It’s been helpful, she thinks.

Getting a better insight into her mind is exactly what she needs. Now she's found herself back in New York, a few months short of their anniversary. One she never wants to celebrate, it's been just short of a year since she left Percy and ran away.

She wanted to let go

Psychically of course she let him go, deleted his number, changed her E-mails, quit her job, and flew 2,900 miles back to Cali. Drowning herself in work she rarely had time to think about him, except when she found herself awake at night. It was a painful cycle of her wanting to hold onto their relationship, the crumbs that were leftover.

She felt guilty of moving on so quick, it was her decision to walk away. She had time to move on from him, prepare herself for the shit show.

And never missing a beat the other side of her mind reassured her, you and Percy weren't compatible. It had to be done, no one is to blame.

;;

Annabeth was doing a great job moving on, she finally had a sense of normality in her life. Her routines were consistent, she found herself regaining control of her life again.

But just like that the wind beneath her feet was knocked out.

Athena.

Her mom reached out to her, it was a short e-mail the older woman asking to make amends. Trying to fix everything, and of course she wasn't going to abandon her life, and what little she had left of happiness in an attempt to meet the woman who left her. But she needed closure, and without a second read of the e-mail she found herself back in New York thinking about Athena's offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a chapter i kept re writing and finally decided to post. i took a break from writing since i went through a rly bad breakup, now i feel like i can write about angst. hopefully i can post the next chapter in a week or two !!


	3. and then you were gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> annabeth talks about the shortcomings of their relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he just comes to visit me when   
> i'm dreaming every now and then  
> -ariana grande

"Do you want to talk about what happened that night?" Annabeth shook her head, baby steps she told herself. It would be awhile since she's ready to talk about it, the little moments in their relationship and milestones was what she wanted to remember. The night _it_ happened is something she wants to keep locked up.

Just for a little longer. 

"I'm not ready yet." Annabeth mumbles looking up at Dr Rastogi, the older woman returns her gaze offering a reassuring smile.

"Of course. Whenever you're ready." 

"But the better parts of our relationship is what I am ready to talk about." Dr Rastogi gives her a warm smile, encouraging her to go on. 

"We would bake a lot" She smiles recalling the handful of times they baked blue cookies and brownies. Percy was a great baker, it was one of his many passions and she always thought he would've made a great pastry chef. " just being with him, doing something so simple and domestic, 

It made me feel so at _home_ , he made me feel at home. And that's what I _love_ about Percy, he didn't have to sweep me off my feet or make grand gestures to make me feel special, the little things he did with me together showed it." Sighing she closes her eyes, trying to feel his embrace, and remembering his steadying heartbeat as she tries to hold onto the memories. 

They're all she's got. 

Dr. Rastogi smiled warmly, "Your relationship with Percy sounded wonderful, Annabeth. You both confided in each other, opened up your hearts to each other sharing an intimate bond. Although you two aren't together now, I want you to be remember that you loved, and were loved." 

Shaking her head slowly, Annabeth lets out a humorless laugh, "But it wasn't enough." 

"If love were enough, we would've still been together and it takes more than love to maintain a relationship." 

Dr. Rastogi nods, "I understand what you're saying Annabeth, a relationship also requires many other things." 

"Yes. Like trust, opening up to each other, compatibility.." 

"And do you believe you and Percy lacked such aspects?" 

"Maybe. He didn't open up or trust me much, at first I didn't expect him to, but it was about to be a year into our relationship and I still had to try and read his mind." 

"Read his mind? How do you mean?" 

"He was horrible at communication and would distance himself when he was struggling." Taking a deep breath, she tries dry her sweaty palms and focus. She didn't want to talk about the fails in their relationship and be reminded of the harsh reality. 

He's no longer with her. 

"It was hard because here I was, falling in love with him but he wasn't ready for a relationship. I knew I had to let him go."

"Did Percy ever suggest or hint that you two breakup?" 

Smiling sadly she shakes her head, "Even if he wanted to, I know he wouldn't have. He was loyal to a fault, so it had to be me who ended the relationship."

Annabeth sniffs, trying to hold back her tears because goddamit it's been almost a year and she can still smell his aftershave. She still remembers how his laugh sounds, and all of these memories linger around, surrounding her, and suffocating her. 

Aggressively wiping her tears away she gives her therapist an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I'm not much of a crier but I guess it's something in the weather" 

"It's more than okay to cry, it's the healthiest way to deal with grief." Smiling, she passes her a box of tissues. 

"I'm really glad you were able to open up to me, I understand that reliving these memories are painful. But that's the first step of moving on, letting all out in the air and embracing them. Good or bad." 

Annabeth nods, "At least I have more good ones than bad." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little bit more on annabeth's pov and how she feels post-breakup. i'm remembering how i felt fresh out of my breakup and using it to hopefully writing a good angsty fic about it (,:   
> the next chapter is going to be percy's pov and i'm excited to write it!   
> thanks so much for reading, & hope y'all are staying safe indoors.


	4. there's no remedy for memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "your head in the clouds as you color me blue."

Smiling, Reyna meets Percy's gaze. Gods his smile is so contagious she thinks to herself, "Baking with your mum, now that's adorable Percy." 

Laughing he shakes his head, although she doesn't miss how strained it is, “My mom did all of the work, but I learned a thing or two." 

Sipping her drink gingerly she moves to study him. They met through mutual friends when Reyna asked him to get lunch, she didn't mention it being a date but they both knew that's what Reyna meant. Their not-date, date was just a bit of fun for her, she didn't expect herself to fall for him right away. But here she is now, wanting to know all about him. 

She pegs him for someone too good to be true; he's got a great mom he can't stop talking about, little siblings who look up to him, and not to mention his amazing friends. He's definitely got some skeletons in his closet she thinks to herself.

"Besides baking with your mum what're other fond memories of your childhood?"

Drumming his fingers against his chin he thinks "Second favorite memory, the beach. It was a tradition we had every birthday."

Reyna quirks her eyebrows up in amusement, "Was, as in past tense. What changed?"

Percy inwardly winces, trying not to bring up the birthdays he spent in mountak with _her._ It was a piece of himself he shared with her, one of the most intimate details but now he doesn't want to think about it. Just wants to forget everything.

He gets it,

some part of him understands why she left him, but the angry part can't understand. To him, she ran away from a relationship that had so much potential. Instead of staying and dealing with their problems she just left. 

In a split second they were strangers again. And it was because of her. 

"You alright Percy?" Reyna's voice broke him out of his trance, meeting her eyes he realized he must've zoned out, not knowing how long, he painted on a smile.

"Sorry, I just started missing my mom a little." Reyna bites back a joke, considering the subject of his mum to be a bit more serious than she reckoned. 

"No worries, it's wonderful that you're close to your mum. Family is important." Percy's grin goes wide, his eyes silently thanking her.

"She's wonderful, but to answer your question - well we don't really see each other much. I guess traditions changed because of that y'know?." Reyna nodded along, it's sweet she thinks being close to family. It's a sign of loyalty she thinks. 

"Yeah I understand, I think it's great you're close to your mum!"

"Yeah, she's great I think she'd like you if you two meet." Realizing the gravity of his statement, Percy's eyes grow wide. "I- Not that I want you to meet my mom like...right now! Or that you shouldn't.." 

Reyna laughs giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry Percy, I understand and for what it's worth your mum sounds wonderful. I'd love to meet her." Percy laughs, and this time it sounds genuine. 

Smirking, Reyna loops her arm around his not asking for an invitation and if Percy stiffens she doesn't seem to notice. 

;;

"You're the best, you know that I love you right?" Annabeth smiled, catching up one of her best friends from Frisco. 

They met in a coffee shop not far from her apartment back in, Saffron was huddled up into a corner writing when Annabeth asked to join her. They sat in comfortable silence as Annabeth was working. 

It was Saffron who sparked the conversation.

"Love you more Beth, how are you feeling about Athena now?" She was one of the few people who knew about about Athena and Annabeth's abrupt move to New York, Saffron being the one who suggested her to. 

"Better, I'm trying to think about what I want from her, and to prepare myself for the worst. I emailed her and said I would meet her soon, but she doesn't know I'm in New York yet." 

"I know you want to try and control your emotions, but remember that you definitely need to process it. If it doesn't go well, don't try to manage it or try and rationalize it. Just feel through it." Usually Annabeth would dismiss her concerns, she's not one to let emotions guide her but it's pointless arguing with Saffron. 

"Yeah, don't worry, I just need to get it over with." 

"Have you met up with your old friends yet?" Annabeth let out a huge sigh, slumping into her couch. 

Her life in New York with Percy and their friends was something she wanted to keep tucked away in the past. When she broke up with Percy, rightfully most of them supported him, like a divorce most of their friends chose him. Except those who knew her best, Rachael and Piper. They were best friends in college, Piper was the party girl who had great ambition, and Rachael was the unconventional mom friend of the group. She was the glue in their friendship, the mature one. 

And when Annabeth decided to go back to Frisco they supported her unconditionally, she kept in touch with them almost daily but now that she was back she wanted to surprise them. 

"I'm going to call Rachael and Pipes later tonight, I'm a little nervous I don't wanna keep on putting my problems on them. Our breakup was so messy and I hate how our friends put themselves into our relationship, taking sides. I just don't wanna be the reason they're not friends with Percy and the others." Annabeth sighed, she hated talking about her messy life, especially to her friends. Her friends weren't her therapist, which is why she rarely talked about her problems around them. 

"Beth, Percy and his friends have no right to shame you for doing what's best for you. From what you told me, it was a dead-end relationship, it's not fair to judge you for getting out of a relationship that went sour. It's your business, and if they're still salty about it, fuck them." Saffron was not one to beat around the bush and make excuses for other people. That's why they got along, they were each other's moral support. 

"Thank you Saff, I needed that." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really love writing angst, usually i only write about canon ships. but i added preyna since i think reyna and annabeth are quite similar. lmk what y'all think!  
> criticism is welcomed (:


	5. I wanted to reach out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "your name is on my lips, over and  
> over like it's a prayer"  
> \- lana del rey

Dropping his keys into the holder, Percy sigh as he shrugs his jacket off. 

Exhaustion creeping onto to him as he made his way inside his dimmed bedroom. He forgot how emotionally draining dates could get sometimes, especially considering that this was his first date after her. He thinks he's finally moving on, leaving behind his past for a better future. 

Reyna's good for him he thinks. 

It's easy with her, he doesn't have to rack his brain to try and impress her, and even though this was only their first he thinks she's easy to know. He wants- no he needs easy right now. After Annabeth, he'll take all the easy he can get. 

it's her eyes he thinks. Reyna has beautiful stormy eyes, and though guarded it had vulnerability. And just when he didn't want to think of her, his thoughts landed on Annabeth.

Reyna's eyes reminded him of Annabeth, stormy and beautiful. 

Her eyes were one of his favorite things, they studied him endlessly and made him weak to his knees. Reyna seems to have the same effect, but it stales in comparison to Beth. And without wanting to, he finds himself think of her. Again. 

The knots on his stomach start forming, and he kicks himself for thinking about her again. With every step he takes, he feels himself taking two steps back. It should be easy to forget about her now that he's dating again, but she's stuck to him like glue.

Thoughts of her keep lingering around, and he starts to feel nauseous. He knows he hasn't moved on yet, and he hates reminiscing their relationship. He feels stuck, stuck in this place where all he can think about is her. 

Thinking back to their relationship is nauseating, but he doesn't care. He wants to dwell on it right now, and as his mind goes back to her he lets out a smile. She was his best friend, even though they were together for less than a year, they were best friends for years. 

They met, freshman year of college it took him all four years to realize his feelings for her. Needless to say, it was Annabeth who made the first move. She asked him out to lunch, and when she kissed him was when he realized they were on a date. 

He smiles, thinking back to that, and he wonders how Annabeth just threw away 4 years of a relationship in a heartbeat. To Percy, loyalty is everything which is why he can't forgive her for walking out. And for now, he just wants to be angry at her. 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College is expensive & financial aid is stressful so I haven't been able to take time for myself ):  
> i took some time for myself this week to write, hopefully it's decent! it's super short but i just wanna get a chapter out  
> ;;  
> i wanted to do some more percy pov, he's still understandably upset and angry at annabeth, while she's trying to move on. they both need hugs ):


	6. Crash into me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Annabeth surprises Piper and Rachael for lunch.  
> And plans to forget all about percy, but life never works the way you plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes  
> Your ocean eyes"  
> billie ellish

After re-adjusting her shirt for what felt like the thousandth time, Annabeth finally let out a sigh of relief. She was getting ready to meet her friends over lunch; she knew theoretically there wasn't anything to worry about.

They've been best friends for years, so of course it would be fine. But she couldn't help feel guilty about leaving her friends behind. Now she's ready to make things normal between them, hopefully to make up for the fact that she left her life behind.

They were about to call soon anyway, Rachael and Piper hung out every other weekend and it was the perfect opportunity to surprise them together. 

"Hey guys, I-Um don't freak out but I'm in New York!"

"What?! Holy shit Annabeth when?" Annabeth laughs as she starts to fill them in, the full story about her impulsive flight to New York. And how she needs closure to move on. 

From both her mom and Percy.

"Remember the cafe with the really good french toast? I was thinking of meeting there, it'll be just like old times" Lunar Cafe, she remembers the mornings and late nights spent there with her friends and Percy. It was a beautiful place to unwind for her. 

"We can't wait to see you again Anna! You're home!"

* * *

Stepping out of her car Annabeth smooths out the wrinkles on her shirt. The nostalgia crashed into her like waves as she looked around the place, a few things changed in the year she was away. There's a few more stores surrounding the cafe, and there were beautiful London Plane trees around the place. 

Walking inside the cafe she took in the smell of vanilla and brewing-coffee letting the aroma take her back to simpler times. Her college days were anything but difficult. She chose a degree she knew was relatively and safe. Her life was normal, and boring that was exactly how she wanted it. 

Looking around, she notices a few changed things. 

She remembers this place like the back of her hand. It's a two-story with a rustic interior design, there were vintage pictures surrounding the walls, and the floors were hardwood. Looking around now, a few things have changed, it's more modern and the fairy lights are now modern Pendant lights.

She feels herself almost regret leaving this part of her home, she met her best friends and Percy here. She practically grew up here, graduated and was starting a life with someone. It's funny she thinks, life changes in an instant. 

Her only regret is the fact that she didn't stop to enjoy the little things. 

Walking around she finds her usual seat. It's a table for four in corner, close to the window just like before. Taking her seat, she lets her mind drift, starts to think back to what things would be like if she stayed.

Would her and Percy have made it?

She wants to think they would've, that somehow all of their problems would work themselves out. These are hypothetical she'll never have answers to, the 'what ifs' and 'if only.' And she really wants to dwell on them, to think of a future with Percy in them. But instead she finds herself burying those feelings deep inside, taking a deep breath she pushes him deep inside her mind. 

"Anna holy shit!" Without having to look up, Annabeth already knows who it is. Running up to her she hugs her best friend- tight. 

"Red, oh gosh I missed you so much!" And it feels like she never left them, like she never left New York in the first place. 

"I can't believe you kept yourself hidden for so long! We missed you so much." 

"I missed you guys more, you have no idea. Speaking of, where's Pipes?" 

"Oh she's just trying to find parking, she'll be here in a bit." They start to catch up, properly in person and she feels herself wondering why she left in the first place. Mid conversation they were interrupted by Piper, who started semi yelling at Annabeth for not telling them she was here sooner. 

"I'm not even sure how long I'm staying, I haven't even told Athena that I'm in New York." 

"Oh Anna, I wish we could help you." Smiling, she took Piper's hands across the table.

"It's okay guys, I-I'm doing fine. I'm seeing someone." 

"Wait what? I mean I thought you were still getting ove-" 

"Oh! I meant a therapist. I just have a lot to work through and I can't do it alone." Smiling, Piper gave Annabeth's hands a reassuring squeeze. 

"You don't have to go through this alone Beth." 

"I know I have you guys. I'm thankful but I feel like this is something I need to do myself." 

"Okay, well how long are you staying for?" Annabeth sighs because she doesn't know how long herself. She's a Software developer so she can work from anywhere really. Ideally she wants to move on and never look back again but who knows how long that's going to take. 

"Not sure Rachael, It's already been a few months since I came back and I don't even know when I'm going to see Athena." 

"It's okay Beth, stay as long as you need to. We're here for you." 

* * *

Hours go by and they're still talking, making plans about lunch next week and going to see a movie. Just like old times; She hadn't realized how much she missed from Cali until today. 

"Thank you for coming Pipes; I know you don't like taking sides but it means a lot that you get it." Smiling Piper hugs Annabeth closely. 

"Of course Beth, you're like my sister." 

Annabeth now feels like herself again, being surrounded by her support system and who she considers her family makes her feel whole again. Stepping out to the sun she starts to smile, her stay in New York won't be as bad as she initially thought. 

Her worries are slowly being eased away, and she's confident she can move on after this. 

Fishing for her keys inside her purse she finds her way towards her car. She's ready to unwind and work her worries away with a glass of wine while Grey's Anatomy plays as background noise. 

She's monetarily distracted and ends up colliding into someone. She doesn't have time to process the familiar aftershave as she's too busy ready to apologize. But as she's looking up the apologies bubbling up to her throat die out as she feels the knots in her stomach paralyzing her. 

"Oh my god. I-Shit. Hi" 

She meets his eyes, his beautiful sea green eyes and she's rendered speechless. They still reminded her of the ocean, the messy waves yet calm sea. She feels herself drowning as it's suffocating her. 

Crushing her. 

"Annabeth," 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm still trying to get better at making my sentences flow. sometimes it feels like i just put two chunks of unrelated paragraphs together. 
> 
> but u get better by doing so yeah hopefully it has a better flow than before!  
> also i love the concept of "the one who got away" and two people finding their way to each other again.
> 
> criticism/feedback is welcomed! (:


	7. roads always lead to you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "hold your hand while dancing,   
> never leave you standing"   
> \- Taylor Swift, champagne problems

Maybe  if one of them  cheated,  or if there was  permanent damage  to the relationship, it would have been  easier. 

Easier to hate him she thinks. 

Then maybe her guilt wouldn’t eat at her for running away, and not wanting anything to do with him would be easier.  Then there would be no  chance for them and she would be fine with that. There would  be no  sliver of hope  lies  in her mind, suffocating her.  If only it were an open-shut case, then  her thoughts would fly away with the wind, the ‘what ifs’ wouldn’t suffocate her and 

she’d be free. 

But her  thoughts  are  constantly  overcrowded with what ifs' and if only' and the what-ifs are worse for Annabeth than knowing for sure.  And for some reason she still doesn’t know if running away was the right thing, maybe things would have been different? 

No no no, she can’t think like that, not when she’s been making so much progress. 

And what hurts the most is that all of their problems could have been addressed.  All she wanted from him was accountability, to realize he was hurting her. Maybe not intentionally, but that doesn’t matter.  It doesn’t matter if he ‘didn't mean to’ or ‘it was not intentional’ he has his reasons but she had her reality. And she couldn’t ignore what was right in front of her. 

So at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what he did intentionally or not. The impact is more important than intent. 

Coming back to New York she expected to be thinking of him all the time, and expected to be restless, but didn't expect to have to face him.  He’s right in front of her, no longer memory but here in the flesh. She can see where his eyebrows end and notices the freckle underneath his eye, and just like the last time she saw him all she wants to do is jump into his arms

and never let him go. 

And she finds herself smiling, looking into his eyes she starts to think back to when they first met when they were younger when they had less to lose and gets lost to the first day they met. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are more chapters to come! I'm sectioning off this one event into 3 chapters I feel like that would hit harder since they're finally forced to run into each other (:   
> I'm going publish two more chapters today since it's my birthday and I wanted to gift my readers (and myself)   
> Thank you all so much for reading and the nice comments !!


	8. Life was a willow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long time  
> And seeing the shape of your name  
> Still spells out pain  
> \- Closure, Taylor Swift

She remembers the day they met so vividly, it’s an engraved memory in her head refusing to let her go, she can’t run and it lingers like a horrible aftertaste. If she closed her eyes and really thought about it, she can smell the peppermint in the air, the patterns the rain left on the windows, the playful conversation between them, and just about everything. 

It's not like she wants to think about it, she doesn't, 

But what else is she supposed to do? He's right in front of her, she's not up at two am stalking him on Instagram or looking at the old pictures she's still holding onto. He's there in the flesh, staring right back at her. 

His hair's gotten so much longer she thinks, Percy would almost always keep it short, just longer than a buzzcut. His hair is messier now, rough on the edges but still just as beautiful. What must it be like, to grow up that beautiful?

And she's so lost in him, drowning in his eyes that she hardly hears Percy talking to her. 

"Annabeth?" His voice pulls her up from the waters, finally meeting his eyes she attempts to smile, "Percy! Hi. Sorry, I'm a little out of it today. The New York weather is like clogging my head." 

He doesn't smile back, but why would he? She doesn't know if it's the cold that's sending chills down her spine or Percy. 

"Wh- Ahem What are you doing here? In New York I mean." 

Right now all Annabeth wants to do is explode on him, tell him about Athena. She knows that if anyone would understand abandonment issues, it'd be him. If things were different, he'd be the first person she'd tell everything to. 

But does she want things to be different? 

"I- Uhm. I'm just visiting Pipes and Rachael. It got boring in Cali." Percy nods solemnly, and it stings Annabeth to think of the distance between them. 

"Ahh okay." 

What is she even expected to say to him? She lost the privilege to know about him for a long time now, and all she wants is for the earth to swallow her whole. Looking back up at Percy she feels time stand still and tries to pretend that she can handle this. Her emotions are in control, and she reminds herself that she is in control.

"So how are you?" And as soon as the words left her mouth she wanted to disappear. It was so damn insensitive obviously he would be struggling- 

"I've been pretty good actually! I started a new job, been on working on music again. Life's been good." She loves how the corner of his eyes crinkle up when he smiles, and she tries to ignore how he seems content, almost happy now.

He's moved on. 

And his words feel like shards of glass piercing through her, it feels wrong- almost unfair she thinks. A year of therapy but she still can't move on, stuck in limbo. But Percy? He gets to move on. 

Freely without guilt holding back. 

"Same for me, I'm hoping to do some networking here along with visiting family." 

"Ahh, Dr.Chase and the rest of the family, that sounds wonderful actually! Please tell them I said hi!" 

Percy was basically another member of her family, the twins loved him and so did her dad. It feels weird, not having Percy in their lives anymore. She's not used to whatever this is. 

"Of course" 

There's this body of distance in between them, it's massive and all she wants to do is reach out across the sea they've put in between each other. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone (:   
> When I first started writing this story, I was going through a breakup so this revolved around how I felt in midst of it. While writing, I learned to move on and found happiness with someone else! Which was why I wasn't really keeping up with this story, I found peace and didn't really have a bunch of inspiration to draw from.   
> And for better or for worse, we broke up just recently. I now have a ton of feelings and all I wanna do is write them down. I'm still healing and this is my way. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading (:


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